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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Portrait of the Week - a Beauty from Brown

Found another New England lovely to add our portrait collection -- though she is a transplant - originally from New Jersey. This one is from Brown University in Providence, RI. She is Margaret Stites Manning (1740-1815), wife of the first president of the college painted by Cosmo Alexander in 1770.

She was born in Oct 16, 1740, so she was thirty when this portrait was painted.

She's dressed a bit more conservatively than our Boston beauties (could that be an 18th century Jersey girl thing or just that she was a Baptist minister's wife?) with her lappet cap fastened under her chin, but her gown is similar, complete with a rosette fastening her handkerchief. Her shift and cuff ruffle peak out from under her sleeve flounce like our other subjects. I just love how sheer her handkerchief is -- covering but not quite covering. Too bad we don't see whether or not she is wearing an apron and if that apron is tied over her gown -- rats! Lots to emulate here. Enjoy!

2 comments:

Nice find Mrs. S...I love that she's a Jersey girl and a Libra. I'm assuming that she's from Elizabeth, NJ? I know that "West Jersey" (today South Jersey outside Philadelphia, nowhere near Elizabeth, NJ) was strongly Quaker in the 18th century. Maybe she was raised Quaker?

What is this all about?

We are chronicling the preparation for an event at Minute Man National Park during the summer of 2012 - A Muster Day 1773.

There are 10 pages which will follow the process and progress of getting ready by 10+ individuals, ranging from newcomers to experienced seamstresses. A wide range of ages from 2 to 50+ will be represented as well as an assortment of social strata.